MS Treatments Episodes

What can you do when the MS medication you need can cost $80,000, $90,000 or even $100,000 a year, and you don't have health insurance? Or you have health insurance, but your insurance company won't approve the specific disease-modifying therapy that your neurologist thinks will be best for you? My guest is Lisa Aquillano, a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Multiple Sclerosis at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. And we're talking about specific steps that you can take to overcome th...

My guest is Stubhy Pandav, the lead singer of Lucky Boys Confusion and The Hoodie Life. Last year, Stubhy was diagnosed with MS. Then, Stubhy's insurance company told him that he couldn't start the disease-modifying therapy that his neurologist had prescribed. We'll talk with Stubhy about how he's managed to navigate this first year since his MS diagnosis, and we'll also talk with him about MS Sucks: Singing for a Cure, a benefit concert that's raising funds for the Accelerated Cure Project for...

Last week, the National MS Society and RealTalk MS announced a new partnership. And we're definitely talking about it! My guest is Dr. Soha Saleh, a research scientist at Kessler Foundation's Center for Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research, and we're talking about her innovative research in understanding how MS impacts dual-tasking -- something that all of us do, all day long. We'll tell you about the newly announced Weill Neurohub, and why that's such promising news for people aff...

My guest this week is Dr. Mary Bailey, a neurologist specializing in MS care at the Mandell Center for Multiple Sclerosis in Hartford, Connecticut, and we're talking about some of the changes that occur as relapsing-remitting MS transitions to secondary progressive MS. Since about 80% of the people living with relapsing-remitting MS will experience that transition to secondary progressive MS, I think it's an important conversation to have. Since yesterday was Veterans Day in the United States,...

My guest this week is Dr. Silvana Costa, a research scientist in the Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Center at the Kessler Foundation. Dr. Costa's work is focused on cognitive impairment in MS, specifically, information processing speed, which is something that people living with MS often have to deal with. We'll talk with Dr. Costa about some of her specific research, along with a promising intervention designed to improve cognitive processing speed for people living with MS. We're also talki...

When you're living with MS, it can feel as though you're taking a few extra things with you when you go to work. For instance, if you haven't told your employer that you've been diagnosed with MS, you're taking along the extra burden of having to keep a secret. You might be trying your best to manage your MS symptoms on the job, dealing with things like fatigue, vision problems, and even physical balance. During the workday, all of these things -- these "extra burdens" -- get piled right on top ...

This week, we're talking about palliative care for MS. It's a topic that a lot of people living with MS still don't know enough about, but palliative care can offer real benefits in attaining the best overall quality of life. Joining me in discussing palliative care is my guest, Cherie Binns. Cherie was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 1994. She's been a Registered Nurse for 45 years, and Cherie is also an Internationally Certified MS Nurse. Cherie serves as the co-chair of the iConquer...

Fatigue isn't only a common symptom of MS; it's also one of the most disruptive symptoms of MS. It's hard to be out living life when you're trying to overcome that feeling of just not having any gas left in the tank. My guest is Dr. Ekaterina Dobryakova, a research scientist at the Kessler Foundation's Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, where she conducts research in cognitive dysfunction caused by traumatic brain injury and multiple sclerosis. Dr. Dobryakova's research has shown that t...

My guest is Jenny Freeman, Professor of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at the University of Plymouth, in the United Kingdom. Professor Freeman's research has appeared in more than 150 journals and publications. And she's the co-author of Multiple Sclerosis Care -- A Practical Manual, the reference book for all aspects of MS care. We're going to be talking with Professor Freeman about the just-published results of a clinical trial that I think will add a very effective component to physical reh...

Do you ever wonder how or why your neurologist recommends one disease-modifying therapy instead of another? For some people, their first disease-modifying therapy is a mild drug with few side effects. For others, their first disease-modifying therapy might be a more high-powered drug that carries the risk of more possible side effects. But how do neurologists really know when it's appropriate to use one specific disease-modifying therapy or even when it's appropriate to switch to another? My gu...